Scott quiet on Sanford run

12/23/12 8:55 AM EST

Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) says as many as 30 candidates could be lining up to take his congressional seat, but he had little to say about the most notable prospect: former Gov. Mark Sanford.

Last week reports surfaced that Sanford was considering re-entering politics and running for the seat Scott will vacate when he takes retiring Sen. Jim DeMint's seat next month. And in an interview aired Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation," host Bob Schieffer asked Scott about what he'd heard on a Sanford run.

"My understanding is that we may have 25 or 30 candidates running for that first congressional district seat," Scott said, according to early excerpts of the interview. "The interesting thing is that when you have a special election people can get involved and have an opportunity to make their case. This is going to be a very active primary. I think it starts sometime in late March or early April that the citizens of the First District will have an opportunity to have their voice heard through the vote and then two weeks later there will obviously be a runoff because with that many candidates we'll have a lot to say grace over."

For his part Scott said he would be on the ballot again in 2014 running for a full Senate term.